Audit Report Lag: High and Low Audit Committee Experience Context

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of Key Audit Matters (KAM), operational complexity, audit committee gender, and audit committee work experience on audit report lag (ARL) among consumer non-cyclical, property, and real estate companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) during 2022–2024. Using a quantitative approach with panel data regression, the research distinguishes between firms with high and low audit committee experience to identify situational differences in governance effectiveness. The results show that KAM and audit committee work experience significantly reduce audit report lag, indicating that greater transparency and professional competence improve audit efficiency. In contrast, operational complexity and gender diversity have no significant impact on ARL. Further analysis reveals that the effects of KAM and audit committee experience are more pronounced in firms with low experience levels, whereas they weaken in firms with high experience, suggesting a conditional relationship between transparency and governance capability. These findings support Agency Theory and Corporate Governance Theory, emphasizing the complementary roles of disclosure and oversight quality in enhancing audit timeliness. The novelty of this research lies in its situational approach that distinguishes governance effectiveness based on audit committee experience, an area rarely examined in audit timeliness studies, while offering a contribution to the audit literature by advancing a deeper understanding of how governance attributes interact to influence audit efficiency in emerging markets.